Tag: college

Since urban dictionary doesn’t quite spell it out for you, I will: This is when applications have been completed and sent, but there is neither an acceptance nor rejection from anyone. There is little to no knowledge of when an answer will arrive, if ever. This is grad school purgatory.

On Sunday night we arrived back at the University from our trip to Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire. There were around a hundred researchers who attended the annual conference there. And let me tell you, not a single one wasn’t in shape. The mountain was steep, with an occasional dirt path leading the way, but other times you had to bushwhack to get where you were going. Although I had no cell service or internet for miles around and people were scarce, the restaurants we ate at were pure heaven. In the picture above: Woodstock Station and Brewery, view from Shamrock Motel of the White Mountains, the lab, and view of the brook. Continue reading “Hubbard Brook”

Welcome to the beautiful campus that is my new summer home: Syracuse University (SU). Situated on an enormous hill next to the basketball dome and College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) this campus practically gleams. Continue reading “SU-mmer Studies”

I’ve shared plenty of sweet remembrance on this blog and my memoir “All I See Is Green”. The truth is my journey to getting my degree has been bittersweet. With just a few semesters left I am reminded of student debt, the need for employment, and many other crucial life choices I need to make. It’s a feeling reminiscent of high school graduation. You can choose to graduate or continue. You can choose to move out or stay home, get married or adventure, just like Game of Life. This post goes out to everyone faced with those decisions right now.

The following was my submission to Kelly Engineering Services for an annual scholarship. Although I was not the winner, my essay had a strong message. I titled it: “On Water: The Social Complexities of a Simple Molecule”

Water surrounds us; it is in our showers and baths, it washes our hands, cooks our appetizers and entrée. With it, we continue living like nothing ever happened. Without it, the most basic forms of life could not exist. Although water encapsulates seventy percent of our planet, there are people struggling to find it. I believe that engineers have a responsibility to protect humanity; to share knowledge of technological advances with the world, and correct their mistakes in social and political aspects. As of late, issues such as the Flint water crisis and Porter Ranch methane leak reflect engineering at its worst in the US. However, I still hold true that engineers are capable of so much more.

I went to see Moana with my family shortly after it came out. My sister will tell you that I keeled over laughing at the part where the crab says, “Oh I see, you used a barnacle covered in bioluminescent algae as a deception!” I can’t tell you why I cracked up. The truth is I’m not really sure why. Maybe I was surprised that a crab recognized the bioluminescent algae and barnacle as part of his environment, or that he pronounced algae the same way my biology professor did all semester.

Every college student to date will agree with me on this: Group projects are THE WORST. If a professor wishes to single-handedly destroy the relationships between his students in one day, he will assign a group project. If you see someone’s phone buzz thirty times in a row? Probably a group project. Group chats, google docs, and “Reply-all” emails are just the beginning.